Skate Sizing After Break In

[gtoddh 0]

Here's my story:

Over a year ago I had my gear bag stolen, which had my Vapor THG size 10.5D skates in it (and my Hurricanes CCM pro pants, but that's a different story.) I really liked the THG skates. I never had them baked and they fit me very well.

I considered getting the same skates again, but instead decided on Vapor XIX's. I ordered them in size 10.5D from ePuck. When they arrived they were way too big for me. That pair was obviously tagged incorrectly because there was no way they were 10.5D. I then had ePuck send me a pair of XIX's in 10D. When the 10D's arrived I went to my LHS and compared them to a pair of 10.5D's they had there. The 10D's fit ok but my toes were just a little pressed against the inside of the toe cap. I walked around the store in them for about 20mins and decided that they were too small. I then purchased the 10.5D's from the LHS and sent both the 10.5D's and 10D's back to ePuck. Again, I never got the XIX's baked and they fit me very well.

Fast forward to about 3 months ago. I discovered that the blade on my right skate had a bow in it. It didn't affect me when playing, only when ref'ing. My foot would oscillate back and forth while gliding. I had the LHS remount holder in an attempt to straighten the blade. This didn't resolve the blade bow so they sent them back to Bauer. Bauer decided to replace rather than repair the skates.

FF again to now. Prior to my LHS sending in the skates I asked if it would be possible to take the value of the XIX's and apply it to new XXX's, and just pay the difference, should Bauer decide to replace my skates. They said sure. Right now my LHS has a shipment of Bauer equipment coming in any day. They have 10.5D XIX's and 10D XXX's (but no 10.5D XXX's) coming in.

So finally here's my question:

Does anyone know how Vapor XXX's compare to XIX's in terms of sizing? I've heard that the XXX's are just a little bigger. I'm thinking if this is the case then the XXX's in 10D should be ok for me.

The other question is how much bigger, in length, will skates get after they're broken in, and will baking them have any effect on that? If the 10D XXX's are just a little tight at first, do you think they'd be ok after I broke them in and/or got them baked?

One last question - for my size and level of play (6'4", 235lbs, Adult C-league) is it really worth spending 2/3 as much again to get the XXX's over the XIX's? The XIX's are $299 and the XXX's are $469. I'd need to pitch in another approx $190 to get the XXX's.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I needed to fully explain my situation.

Thanks in advance.

Todd

[CardinalHcky19 0]

well their both Bauer so shouldnt they fit the same??

[SyracuseBulldogs04 0]

well their both Bauer so shouldnt they fit the same??

In theory you'd think they would but like for example the xxx's were bigger then the xx's. Sorry gtoddh because i dont exactly know the answer but on the part where you question if you should get the xxx's id say go for it. If you have the money treat yourself anyway and get the more performance and durability.

[hamstercaster 2]

Buy them at your LHS instead of online. This way you'll be able to try your skates for fit and will be sure to have skates that fit you perfectly. Buying skates online, unless you've own the same skates you're buying or tried them out elsewhere is not the best way to go IMO. Sure you may save a few bucks but you could also end up with skates that are not suited for you and be stuck with them too.

[KYHockey3 0]

Buy them at your LHS instead of online.  This way you'll be able to try your skates for fit and will be sure to have skates that fit you perfectly.  Buying skates online, unless you've own the same skates you're buying or tried them out elsewhere is not the best way to go IMO.  Sure you may save a few bucks but you could also end up with skates that are not suited for you and be stuck with them too.

his lhs has the xxx's coming in, so obviously he will be trying them on.

[gtoddh 0]

Buy them at your LHS instead of online. 

Perhaps you didn't read my entire post.

Either way I am getting a new pair of Bauer skates from my LHS to replace the ones that had the mismounted holder.

My questions pertain to the difference in sizing between XXX's and XIX's, and about how much room skates will gain after break in and/or baking, and if an extra $190 is worth paying for XXX's over XIX's given my size and playing level.

[jon93 0]

i dont think its worth spending the extra mooney same holder, same fit and i think the XIX's look better ,,if lookm matters to you

[sogaduch 0]

I cant really comment on how the XIX fits but theres one things about skates and that is a skate can always be made bigger never smaller. If you find your toes gently pressing the end of the boot after there oven heated it should fit much better and if you ever find the boot abit too snug your lhs should be able too make them abit bigger

[gtoddh 0]

Update:

I ended up with the XXX's in a size 10D. I walked around the LHS in them for about 45mins to make sure they fit ok, and in that time the skates felt good on my feet. The LHS still hasn't recv'd the XIX's. They even offered to just refund my $$ for the XIX's because they weren't able to get them in in a timely fashion. I briefly considered taking the $324 and ordering XX's from HockeyMonkey for $230. That would have been a real a**hole thing to do though so I didn't do it.

On a side note - the LHS did have Supreme50's and Supreme70's in stock. They had 50's in 10D but the biggest 70's were 9.5D which were just a little too small. The 70's are very cool, they have the new LS2Power holder/blade. The 50's have a TUUK+. They are not really a high level skate so I didn't want them. I would have taken the 70's if they had them in my size but it would have taken them at least 3 weeks to get them in. It was a tough decision though because the 70's would have been $70 less than the XXX's. Again, I could have taken the refund and ordered 70's from someplace like Kempshockey.com, but I really wanted to keep my business at the LHS.

I ref'd 2 games last night in the XXX's. They felt pretty good. My feet were starting to get a little sore towards the end, but I guess that's to be expected with brand new skates. No pressure points, just an overall soreness. I expect that to go away.

Getting back into Bauer's after skating on old CCM's for 3 weeks felt like coming home. It's amazing how different 2 pair of skates can feel on the ice. You think - oh a boot, a holder, a blade...what can be so different. Well, the difference is night and day.

Thanks all for your input.

Todd